Educational toys for toddlers

Friday, December 16, 2011

You can only seldom see kids that do not play with a particular
type of toy because toys have already become a part of the childhood
stage. This means that as a parent, you just have to let you child be.
If he wants to spend some of his time playing with the toys, you just
have to let him do what he wants. And of course, you can buy some toys
for him in addition to what he already has. Because it is not right to
prohibit your child in playing with his toys, the best thing that you
can do is to get him some educational toys. From the name itself, these
toys are not just the ordinary toys that you can see in various toys
stores; these are somehow different from the usual. Your child will not
only have fun and enjoy, at the same time he will also learn some of the
basics like the different shapes and colors. So where can you find
these toys and how can you properly select them?
There are several
places where you can find educational toys for your child. For
instance, you can visit a store that sells different types of
instruments. You will surely find something there for your child like a
music instrument toy. This kind of toys are actually classified as
educational toys because you child can learn different things related to
music. Another place where you can find educational toys is a
bookstore. Aside from books and other reading materials, you can also
find a huge variety of puzzles for kids and adults. Undoubtedly, puzzles
are among the educational toys that can enhance some of your child's
skills and abilities. This is basically because in order to solve the
puzzle, you child should come up with a strategy on how to arrange the
puzzle pieces. And of course, you can also consider the idea of looking
for such toys online. Perhaps this is best option for you to consider
because you are only going to spend a small amount of your time and
effort but you can surely find a lot of choices.
Once you have
already decided on where you are going to shop for educational toys, you
can then move one to selecting the toys according to your standards and
preferences as well as your child's. When you are already in the
process of selecting the toys for your child, it is important that you
also take the age or your child into consideration. If your child is
still an infant, then you are limited to the soft and huggable
educational toys. But when you child is already a toddler, you can opt
for toys that are bright-colored, solid and are more challenging for
him. And for course, do not forget to check on the quality of the toy,
the materials used and how it is constructed. In general, instead of
getting the usual toys, it is best that you consider the educational
toys for your kid.

What are the best educational toys for kids? Well, first of all I
think they should be toys that your child enjoys playing with. If they
don't enjoy playing with the toy they won't play with it and therefore
won't learn from it. The toys should also teach common everyday life
lessons, things that are going to be useful to your child in their early
years. Things like the alphabet and numbers are lesson they will need
early on.
The thing about kids is that they are very inquisitive
and hungry for knowledge. If they can get that knowledge in a fun way it
will stick with them for a long time. That is what shows like Sesame
Street does so well and way it is so successful. Toys that educate
should follow that same rule and they will be more beneficial for your
child. Think of it like this, toys that educate combine two things that
kids love, playing with toys and satisfying their hunger to learn. So
lets take a look at some of the best educational toys for kids.
One
toy that has a fun way of teaching the alphabet and numbers to your
toddler is the "Learning Home" from Fisher Price. This is a playhouse
your child can craw through that plays traditional sing-a-long songs
your child will love to sing and learn from. Another one of those great
learning toys for toddlers is the "Learning Table" from LeapFrog. This
toy also teaches the alphabet and counting, but it also teaches kids
about colors and shapes. These are all things kids should know about.
Melissa
and Doug's Deluxe Standing Easel will give your child a taste for art
while at the same time keeping your walls and floors from becoming all
market up with crayons and markers. This toy will expose your little
ones to different art mediums in their on little area. Just imagine your
little tykes doing their finger painting on their own little pad
instead of your walls.
There are a lot of educational toys out
there, but these are a few of the best educational toys for kids. You
should always make sure that the toys you get your child are safe for
them whether it's educational or not. Don't underestimate the power of
toys that educate. Learning toys can give your child a head start on
their education and give them skills that they will need in life.

Every parent wants the same thing; for their child to grow up
happy. It is not uncommon for caring parents to stress over their baby's
educational development. The 6 months leading up to their 1st birthday
is a crucial time as babies become much more communicative and mobile.
This article focuses on educational toys for babies 1 year old and why
they are important for your child's development.
A ball can be
just a simple play thing for the park or garden, but when a baby is
learning to walk, stand or crawl it becomes an important educational toy
for strengthening your baby's leg muscles. Firstly you should sit on
the floor holding your baby facing away from you. Put a ball in front of
their feet and encourage them to kick it. You can help by moving their
legs if your baby can't do it unassisted. Give praise each time they
make contact and this will give them confidence. With another parent and
baby playmate you can have them kicking the ball to each other. They
will both improve their gross motor co-ordination skills whilst having a
lot of fun.
As your baby becomes a 1 year old they will begin to
babble word-like sounds. To help improve your baby's verbal and hearing
skills you can use felt to create animated stories. You can buy
ready-made shapes from educational toy shops or make your own. Face your
baby and tell a simple story using the shapes to illustrate. Speak
clearly and point to the pieces as you talk about them, don't worry
about making the story complicated just keep it animated.
Babies
love to put items into categories, particularly at about 9 months. A
shape sorter is an educational toy that will help to develop your baby's
fine motor skills. Although a shop bought toy may be fun to begin with,
the novelty will soon wear off. It is easy to make your own shape
sorter at home instead, for very little cost. Provide your baby with
different objects or food cut in small pieces and small containers to
put them in. Encourage your baby to sort the items by colour or shape.
A
rattle can help develop your baby's fine motor skills and sense of
rhythm. Any toy that is musical can be entertaining, even ones you have
made at home with pasta and a plastic bottle. Add variety with colours
and different sounds to ensure that your baby doesn't get bored. It may
give you a headache but your baby will love it.
Babies begin to
understand language and develop motor skills before they can actually
speak. Baby signing toys can be used to help improve your baby's
communication skills. Signs are attached to words and this enables you
to better understand what your child wants. Some people think that baby
signing will negatively affect their baby's speech development; however
it actually enhances their vocabulary and language skills.
The
range of educational toys for babies 1 year old is extremely vast. There
are products to suit every parent and baby, whether it is a ball, a
homemade rattle or baby signing toys. When choosing a particular toy
think about the skills that your baby will develop and try to target all
the senses over time.

Educational toys are becoming a staple in most homes across the
world. As parents realise the important of early education, they try to
find ways to make it as fun and simple for their children as possible.
This is where educational toys come into handy. They are affordable, fun
for your children and provide them with the best educational material
you can find. We take a look at a few of the most popular educational
toys on the market.
Memory Games: One of the most popular toddler
games on the market are memory games. These memory games help develop
your child's motor skill development and their memory banks. Playing
these sort of games with your children are also perfect for
strengthening the bond between parent and child. You can use these
memory games while you're on the road or at home for fun evening in. You
can find memory games with numbers or pictures or a combination of both
numbers and pictures.
Puzzles: The preschool puzzles help your
children recognize objects and shapes. Most younger puzzles include
about nine double-sided picture and word puzzle pieces. The most common
puzzles have two distinct ways to play the game. You can either let your
child connect the words on one side or connect the pictures on the
other sides. You can also let them build each puzzle individually.
Building
Blocks:Most educational building blocks have letters, numbers and
pictures attached to them. Your child will be able to spell out words or
create different situations with the building blocks. It is a lot of
fun for toddlers.
Snap Cards: Snap cards are great fun. You need
to match the word with the specific picture. When each piece finally
connects together, on the other hand side, the word will be in bright,
bold colours. This is perfect for children who need to practice their
shapes and sounds.
These four games are the most popular
educational toys on the market currently. Children absolutely love
memory games, snap cards, building blocks and puzzles. If you can find
bright, colour, fun, educational toys for your children then make sure
you snap them up. You will be able to see an amazing difference when it
comes to how far your child actually improves.
Educational toys
are a fantastic addition to your arsenal of educational tools for your
child and the betterment of their learning and academic skills.

Melanie Thomas (CEO Melrose Kids Ltd) is a mother of two boys and
lives in London, England. Melrose Kids Ltd are the official distributor
of Brainy Baby® products in the UK and Ireland.

Almost all toys can be described as educational, each offering a
physical, sensory or creative aspect from which the child can learn and
develop. There are, of course, educational toys out there which have
been specially created to help nurture childhood development, designed
to support a specific development such as co-ordination or
identification.
But why are toys such an important part of
childhood development? No child is born understanding the world they're
brought in to, so from day one they have to learn what things are and
how they work. This makes it important to let children play and explore
with everything to help build their knowledge and understanding.
There
are a range of educational toys all designed to help with the
development of various vital learning skills. For example, infants
particularly need sensory products which allow them to experience
different textures and noises. These sorts of stimulating educational
toys are great for infants to begin to understand how things fit into
the world. For example, you will probably notice how babies love to drop
and pick up; this is them beginning to understand gravity. Toys such as
rattles allow them to find a connection between an action (shaking) and
an outcome (noise), with push-pull toys again teaching them that they
are initiators.
Toddlers can then build on these foundations, and
play with educational toys which help them to imitate more adult skills.
Much more physical at this age, toddlers enjoy educational toys which
involve co-ordination and experimentation, with it important to
encourage understanding of the toys and activity they are taking part
in. Allowing toddlers to express themselves, either through arts and
crafts or dressing-up, enables them to be creative, and important tool
to allow them to independently make choices.
For pre-school and
early primary school ages, the encouragement of turn-taking is
important, so games should be introduced to allow the understanding of
'fair play' to develop. Much more social at this stage, pre-school
children can use educational toys and games to help initiate social
interaction, and can also allow parents to really introduce the
importance of good and bad behaviour. They are also still building on
their understanding of adult skills and knowledge, and enjoy identifying
objects from the world around them. Animal and transport toys in
particular are favourites amongst this age group, as they help to
satisfy the child's curiosity.
Educational toys are important as
they allow children to learn as they are having fun. Even as adults, we
all know the importance of fun to help encourage interest, and for
children nothing is more important than getting them to engage in
learning and development. The development of skills such as imagination
and creativity are just as important as skills such as fairness and
knowing right-from-wrong, so providing children with a wide array of
educational toys is essential.
With childhood development taking
place from the day they are born, children need toys from day one to
ensure they are stimulated and encouraged to learn the next set of
skills. All of this helps to make sure that come school-time they are
equipped with the basic skills to support their understanding of
lesson-based subjects.